Bears receiver and punt returner Eric Weems received a slew of negative comments on his Twitter account Sunday after his attempt to scoop a punted ball inside the Bears 5-yard line prompted a scramble for it in the end zone. The responders apparently did not realize Weems’ smart play earned the Bears more than 15 yards of field position.

Vikings cornerback Marcus Sherels touched the ball first; he tossed it backward from the goal line to enable his teammates to down it. By rule, though, if a member of the kicking team touches the ball first, the return team can attempt to advance it without risk of losing possession.

“I actually tried to pick it up and run it,” Weems said. “I was trying to score, but he knocked the ball out of my hands, and it went into the end zone. Once it went into that end zone, nothing could have happened but a touchback. So we were safe.”

In the Vikings’ pursuit of the ball, they shoved it out of the back of the end zone. So the Bears gained possession at their 20 instead of inside their 5.

“We scored a touchdown in 2010 at Dallas on that play, and it was a 97-yarder,” special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said. “And really, what happens is, if he would have fumbled the ball … it still would have just reverted back to the spot.

“Everyone talks about those returns (by Devin Hester)? I’m more happy about that play than I was any other one because that means that he’s paying attention to the rule, he understands it, and it worked out for us. Ask the offense if they want to start at the 1 as opposed to the 20. I would say the 20.”

Weems addressed the negative Twitter comments with one tweet of his own: “You should know the rules before you speak! What I actually did was smart play #2-0”

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